Avast Skimmer kit build

[psteeleb]

A couple people have asked about it so I thought I'd share my experiance with the Avast Skimmer kit

I did have to slightly modify the skimmer's base ring to fit inside my 8.5" wide sump section so you will see some changes accordingly

It was delivered three days oafter I placed the order. So far I am pleased with ther customer service (quick email responses and fast order processing)

box

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packaging was done right

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all the parts were accounted for even some sandpaper and glue

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I'm not going to go through the step by step build as there are two videos and a build manual availalbe for that, but I will comment on each section to let people know where the videos and manuals may be hard to follow.

As mentioned, before I bought the Advast I was faced with a space constraint in the sump. My sump skimmer chamber is a litle over 8.5"" wide and the skimmer bottom flange is 9" in diameter. I contacted Advast and asked if I could cut the bottom flanges down about a 1/2" without creating a problem with the bolt holes. They responded that it could be done as long as I felt comfortable working with acrylic

As a plan "B" I could have removed the weir in the sump but I felt that shaving down the base and flange would be a better solution.

I ended up bolting both pieces together to cut both pieces at the same time. This also assured matching cuts. I used the longer bolts as a jig guide and with my table saw started to cut a little over 1/4" off each side forming an octagon.

here is a partial with three sides cut (on the left)

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and the completed base ring modification

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[psteeleb]

The Skimmer Collection Cup

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There are 2 glued connections and installation of the screwed in drain pipe
Steps
1) install the drain elbow, I love and hate these things. The elbow is longer then the space between the hole and neck so can not be screwed in or out once the cup in built.
2) glue the neck to the cup base. You will use the cone section top ring as a spacer guide. It glues on both sides of the base plate but let one side dry before turing it over.
3) Glue the outside of the cup to the base. This joint will get glue in a grove and outside edge. Hold on this step untill after making the first cone section glue joint as the outside skimmer cup section is used as a temporary clamp for the cone section


Collection Cup Lid

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There is only one step to the lid assembly; glue the internal ring to the cover plate.


Base plate and bubble chamber

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There are two glued pieces, a ring to the top of the bubble chamber lid and the effluent out pipe
1) the bubble chamber bolts to the baseplate but the instructions are wrong as it appears this is a recent modification. The first video has a completely different assembley and the updated video shows the threaded connections backward as do the instructions. The baseplate I got was only drilled (not threaded as discussed in the video and instructions), but the bubble chamber lid has both a drilled set of holes and tapped set of holes. The instructions show threading a rod into the base plate and putting a nut on the bubble chamber lid but I had to do the opposite.
2) Instalation of the effluent outlet pipe is straight forward but the hole did need to be sanded some to get the pipe to fit. Other then that it is just a matter of inserting the pipe flush and gluing it
3) Install a Uniseal for the pump. Very easy but like any Uniseal the fitting is tight.


The effluent outlet, valve and air silencer

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All the pipe connections are friction fit so no gluing is required.
The valve is made up of a plug a threaded rod and a turn handle. The unit is threaded through a cover plate that doubles as the top of the air silencer.

The air silencer is made up of a clear tube, some sponge material and an inlet and outlet piece of tubing, a cover and a bottom plate. The whole unit is glued together, technically I have no opperational issues with it, but for maintenance it would be nice if the unit could be disassembled for cleaning and/or draining.


The Cone Section

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The assembly of the cone section takes the most time, and has the hardest to make glue joint on the cone seam. There are a total of 3 joints to make

The cone assemble starts with the upper ring. The upper ring has been upgraded since the original design, so the video is not accurate. The build is simple and only requires gluing a small acrylic ring to the grey PVC. The included instructions describe what to do and reference to a picture that was not included in the manual, but the online version shows it clearly.

The cone is held together for gluing the seam in 3 places; on top with the top ring, on the bottom with the bottom ring and in the middle with the skimmer cup piece, so you need to complete the initial cone seam glue joint before completing the build of the skimmer collection cup. The skimmer cup piece fits over the cone and works as a temporary clamp in the middle of the cone.

The internal glue joint is made with one long motion of glue application or it will look sloppy. So just practice the motion and be careful with how fast you squeeze out the glue. The outside will also get a single long glue application, but let the unit dry a couple hours before you make it.

Glue Joint

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Leg Assembly

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no glue joints, just a friction fit of the stand ring over the legs

the threaded holes in two of the legs were not deep enough for the screws, so I clipped about 1/4" off the screws. The screws were also a very tight fit so I thought it could be a problem for future maintenance. I ended up sanding them down and greased them before the final reassembly.

 

[psteeleb]

the completed unit with the Advast Swabbie neck cleaner

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Before putting it in opperation I gave the unit a bleach and then an acid bath then rinsed it for several hours.

and 3 hours after starting it up

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I did some research on pumps and emailed back and forth to Avast a couple times on it. If you want to upgrade the pump the Tuze hydrofoamer is an excelent upgrade